Kate and Pasi

Specialized in pair acrobatics and juggling, the acrobatics duo of Katerina Repponen and Pasi Nousiainen have shared a ten-year career in circus arts. The duo is better known as Kate & Pasi. A circus performer’s life is not all glamour – much of it takes place behind the scenes.

Katerina and Pasi describe their profession as a way of life, chosen at an early age. Katerina’s life in circus began by chance. She was on a walk with her mother when a Moscow circus performer approached them and persuaded the then 6-year old to join his circus school. It lit a passion in her that still burns bright.

With a background in artistic gymnastics, Pasi ended up at Sorin Sirkus in Tampere at the behest of his brother. He was ten at the time. At Sorin Sirkus, Pasi got in on the first wave of circus performers in Finland.

“There were no circus teachers at the time and no-one really knew the right way to climb on someone’s shoulders. And there was an old-school juggler who tried to teach himself to juggle four balls for ten years. He didn’t realize that you’re supposed to juggle each hand separately, not cascade like you do with three balls. There were no videos to help you learn the tricks,” Pasi recalls.

Katerina and Pasi followed their passion, enrolling at circus performer schools. Pasi graduated in 2004 from the Stockholm Cirkus Cirkör (currently DOCH) and Katerina in 2010 from the circus line at Salpaus Further Education.

“You kept wondering if you should find a so-called real job and enroll at a university to study something useful. But I was encouraged to pursue my dreams and use my skills. My first circus teacher instilled me with determination and strength of will. So if I start something, I always see it through,” Katerina says.

A circus performer needs to be spontaneous, even in their everyday life

Pasi was on his second year as a teacher at Salpaus when Katerina began her studies there. Towards the end of her studies, they both found themselves without a partner in their chosen discipline. Their shared training led to both a career and a relationship.

“We got our first deal pretty fast. We spent all our time together, and living 24/7 in a tiny hotel room, we soon found ourselves in a relationship. We decided to get married if we survived a seven-month tour with Sirkus Finlandia living out of a small trailer,” Katerina laughs.

Wedding invitations were soon in the mail. And on their honeymoon, the newlywedded spontaneously embarked on trip from U.S. to Colombia for a performance.

“We were driving a convertible from Vegas to San Francisco on our honeymoon. On the way up north, we got an offer to perform in Colombia. So we headed to Bogotá and ended up performing in a big hall under a roof patched with garbage bags. Then we took a connecting flight through Miami to Helsinki.

Katerina and Pasi say that life in circus requires spontaneity – when performing and training and in your life in circus arts in general. In a career of constant touring and performing, you learn to adapt and seize your opportunities. There is no point in planning too much ahead.

“In June 2019, we headed out for a two-month trip across Italy and Spain with our one and three-year olds traveling along in the backseat. After a week back in Finland, we headed out to Japan for a festival performance. And then after just two days in Finland, we were off to Germany. The whole family had to make do with very little sleep. It’s not something that everyone can necessarily do,” Pasi says.

Always thirsting for more adventure, the duo does about a hundred shows in fifteen countries over the course of a year. In their busiest year to date, they’ve had up to 250 performances.